Thriller opening analysis

50secs – 4mins

This thriller opening is very action packed and has a lot going on throughout it, it’s very futuristic and could possibly fall under the sci-fi thriller sub-genre but defiantly the action thriller sub-genre.

At the beginning of the opening we see lots of skeletons and skulls scattered everywhere alongside what looks like a burnt out city. This sets the enigma straight away to why this has happened and what exactly happened to course this. Enigmas are very common in thriller openings as they leave it open and make the view want to read on. As the camera finally stops panning around we get the foot of what looks like a robot stamp down and then the camera revels the rest of the robot followed by lots of lasers and explosions.

By the lasers we can tell that this falls into a sci-fi category and the explosions which are very common in all thrillers tell us that this film is almost certainly a thriller. There’s lots of fire throughout the whole thing which again is very common in thrillers and gets the audience pumped and into the action.

We are then introduced to humans who as far as we can see are all mature males. The mature men characters are very common in all thrillers and are usually the main characters in them but as there are so many on screens we can’t tell who the main will be yet. The men carry guns which is a familiar piece of iconography for thriller films as it symbolises action and that what thrillers are mostly about.

We then realise that the humans and robots are in a war and the action then kicks off. We get sounds of explosions and gun shots going off from here on in. The fire and lasers stand out very strongly against the dark low key lighting that remains through the entire opening. We get lots of jump shots between all the men shooting back and fighting the robots. The camera work is very effective because where it’s jumping around everywhere it looks asif it’s caught up in the action.

It then cuts to what looks like he humans stronghold and the camera seems to be concentrating on one man but it’s only the back of him we are yet to see his face, this starts another enigma to who what we thing our main character is. We then get his name from the voice over “John Connor” and the camera cuts round to his face which is covered by binoculars. When the binoculars are lowed it reveals an uncut, unshaven, mature man. Again this is a main character we expect to see in thrillers.

The opening then finishes of with a full screen of fire and a voice over. Behind the voice over though he hear a soundtrack, the music is quite epic and goes well with the rest of the opening we have just seen and sets the mood of it for the audience watching.

thriller poster analysis

Forms and conventions of the thriller genres

Characters
When watching thriller films you can always expect to see stock characters, sometimes depending on the sub-genre they're in. but almost all have the usual unsuspecting innocent victim who plays the main character and then a villain or a group of villains who chase the victim as the main storyline throughout the whole film. The main characters you see throughout thrillers are;
Police officers
corrupt cops
the innocent victim
mob bosses/gangstas
heavys (the muscles)


Narrative
The narrative of most thrillers involves the innocent victims life being shattered or destroyed by someone or something and they go out of their way to fix it and get back at the person that done it to them. almost all thriller films whatever sub genres they are involve shoot-outs/killings throughout the film. Another main aspect of the thriller genre is very tense and suspencful scenes, a good example of this is in the film 'Leon' the scene where the young girl is in the toilets with the mob boss.

Themes

the theme is an idea that the film is based on and usually veries between the different sub-genres for instence spy thrillers the theme of espionage is certian to be in there and in your political thrillers there are usually themes of power struggles or deception.

Cinematic style

Cinematic style involves the camerawork e.g. angles, music and lighting. The cinematic styles of triller films also very the fit what film type it is. Enemy of the state is a very good example for a well done cinematic styles. They use music well in it during the tense scenes the music is ver quiet and building up to a big climax and in the car chases or foot chases the music is fast and very up beat. when it comes to lighting the film 'The Resident' is a good example. It uses dim, low-key atmospheric lighting to create the tense and suspencful feelings they are looking to put forward in the film.

Iconography
iconography involves the visual aspects of the film, for example the setting of the film or the props and costumes used. When looking at your action thrillers the setting is usually a very highrise, urban enviroment with lots of tall glass buildings otherwise known as a comtempery world. When watching 'Enemy of the State' very high-tec props are used like the use of satelites to see where everyone is and what everyone is doing in the world.

List of thriller films i've seen

Political thrillers
Political thrillers are thrillers that contain government or political issues throughout the story line. In political thrillers you usually find that the politicians are mostly the villains and are after a member of the public for something they have done to them. The political thrillers I've seen are:

The Lincoln Lawyer
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
Enemy of the State


Revenge thrillers
A revenge thriller is when an innocent victim has be done wrong against (family member killed, wrongly prosecuted, tortured etc.). The innocent victim then goes out to inflict revenge open the villain and get their own back. Here is the revenge thrillers I've seen;

Law abiding citizen
The Last House on the Left
I spit on your grave
Harry Brown
Hard Candy


Psychological thrillers
Psychological thrillers are thrillers that have a sense of mystery to them. They usually involve the mind are something to do with how the brain works in the main storyline to create the plot. The main character may have something wrong with their mind or something attacking them psychological. The psychological thrillers I've seen are;

Momento
Limitless
Black Swan
Shutter island
Source code
The Butterfly effect
Disturbia


Action thrillers
Action thrillers are thrillers that consist of constant excitement and energy to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Action and thrillers run very closely with each other as they both have the same aim, to keep the audience watching at all times, action thrillers I've seen are;

Snakes on a plane
Mission impossible
I, robot
Transporter 2
James Bond: Casino royale
Taken


Comedy thrillers
Comedy thrillers are films that look to thrill their audiences as well as make them laugh. They almost always consist of a clumsy or incapable main character who gets them self into a sticky situation and has to get out of it. Here's the comedy thrillers I've seen;

Kick Ass
Shaun of the dead
The A-team


Horror thrillers
Horror thrillers are thrillers that aim to scare and sometimes even disgust their audience. Horror thrillers mainly consist of the main character being put in an eerie situation or location most of the time on their own and then they are forced to find a way out or fight there way out from the villains (e.g. ghosts, zombies, the supernatural etc.). Here's a list of horror thrillers I've seen;

House of the dead
Panic room
Dark water
Hostel